6 Thanksgiving Tips From People Famous for Their Food

A top-down view of a spread of side dishes, including a green bean casserole, a pan of roasted carrots and squash, and a metal bowl of mashed potatoes.

In this edition of The Recommendation, we’re sharing hacks from professional chefs and well-seasoned hosts to make cooking for a crowd easier.

I recently hosted Friendsgiving for 20 people, and in the two weeks leading up to it, I tried to keep myself grounded by leaning on all the little hosting best practices I’ve gathered over the years. I still panic-bought far too much cheese for my charcuterie board and forgot the potatoes for my mash, but I avoided any major fiascos by falling back on a few hosting tenets that have never failed me: Make tried-and-true recipes, clean as you go, and have a big-batch cocktail ready for guests to enjoy when they arrive.

And I reminded myself of something chef and cookbook author Samin Nosrat told my colleague Maki Yazawa in a recent interview: “It’s ultimately more important that we gather and eat than it is that we have a perfect meal.”

Over the last year, Wirecutter experts have spoken with a slew of professional chefs and well-seasoned hosts, like Samin, for their best kitchen tools and hosting hacks that make cooking for a crowd easier. Here are some of their best tips. Good luck out there this week!



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